Because of Albany gridlock, Mayor Bloomberg's control over city school system expires

Associated PressNew York State Sens. Hiram Monserrate, (D-Queens), and Pedro Espada, (D-Bronx), who combined to throw Albany into disarray, greet each other during a special session at the Capitol in Albany yesterday.

Midnight came and went and Albany solidified its position as a national laughing stock.

While the power struggle continues to prevent any legislative work from being done -- and the state Senate's actions and inactions furthering the level of silliness -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no longer in charge of New York City public schools.

Democrats claimed they passed dozens of bills yesterday after saying that Queens Republican state Sen. Frank Padavan's blink-and-you-missed-it presence in the Senate chamber gave them the quorum they needed to conduct business.

This, even though the GOP said later that Padavan passed through the chamber only because an alternate route was blocked off for a Democratic press conference, and even though Democratic Gov. Paterson said that he would sign none of the bills Democrats passed today.